Tribal Headquarters

History

The Spanish explorer De Soto was the first to encounter the Cherokee in the1540's.

During the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War the tribe supported the British.

By 1820 a group that had tired of the encroachment by settler migrated to Indian Territory which is now Arkansas.

Sequoya (George Grist) a mixed blood, developed the Cherokee alphabet, helping to make the tribe a literate people.

In the 1830's gold was discovered in their Nation, this became a catalyst for removal. With the signing of the Treaty of New Echota, December 29, 1835 the tribe sold their remaining land and agreed to move west of the Mississippi.

The removal to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) occurred in the winter of 1838-1839, with a 800 mile journey, this became known as the "Trail of Tears", with a loss of one-fourth of their tribe. They joined an earlier group known as "old settlers" who had been in Arkansas. Another group that had been in Mexico (Texas) was forced by government troops to move, they went to the mountains of North Carolina where in 1842, they obtained permission to stay. The Texas group are now a part of the Eastern Band of Cherokee.

The Cherokee were slave owners, and resided in areas encompassed by southern influence many of them enlisted in the Confederate Army. A Treaty signed in 1866 remitted them to the United States. They were required to release their slaves. Others had joined the Union Army.

Cherokee Nation created and divided into the following districts or counties: Canadian, Cooweescoowee, Delaware, Going Snake, Flint, Illinois, Saline, Sequoyah and Tahlequah

1861: Beginning of the Civil War. A treaty was signed between the Cherokee Nation and the Confederate government.

1865:Eastern Band lost many to a smallpox epidemic

1866: July 19, Treaty provided for the cession of the Cherokee "neutral lands" in Kansas. Indians living on the land could receive a patent to 320 acres but stipulated that they would no longer be members of the Cherokee nation.

1887: General Allotment Act passed. This act required individual ownership of lands once held in common by the Cherokee people.

1889: Unassigned lands in Indian Territory were opened to white settlers. (Oklahoma Land Rush)

1893: Cherokee outlet was opened for white settlers.

1906: A final agreement was reached between the federal government and the Cherokee people.The Dawes Commission (all Five Civilized Tribes: Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cree and Seminole) created the enrollment records.

1909: Guion Miller Rolls, Cherokee only, who applied for a share of the money from a law suit settlement against the United States

1953: U.S. Congress began a new policy of termination for the Indian tribes. The policy ended the protected trust status of all Indian-owned lands. The BIA began a voluntary urban relocation program. American Indians could move from their rural tribes to a metropolitan area. Many Indians relocated to Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas and Seattle.It is estimated that 750,000 Native American migrated to the cities between 1950-1980.

1968: Indian Civil Rights Act restored the right to hold popular elections.

Agency Records

Agency Records 1898-1950 (East) Cherokee Agency. United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. FHL film 1249974 first film of 7

Cherokee Indian Agency in Tennessee, 1801-1835. United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. (M0208) FHL 1024418 first of 14 films

Allotment Records

Five Civilized Indian Tribes Land Allotment Records, 1899-1907, (NARA RG 75) Oklahoma, Indian Territory, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. OnLine. [[FHL |1390101|item|disp=FHL film 4124879}} first film

The Bureau of Indian Affairs compiled annual Indian Census rolls on many of the reservations from 1885-1940. They list the names of individuals, their age, and other details about each person enumerated. For more information about these records click here.

Enrollment Records

Find out if you are a Cherokee by having your ancestor's name checked to the 1924 Baker Roll.

Removal

The Indian Removal Act was signed May 26, 1830 by President Andrew Jackson. The Act initiated a policy of removal of American Indians tribes living east of the Mississippi River to land west of the river.

"Indexes to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers who Served During the Cherokee Disturbances and Removal in Organizations From the State of Tennessee and the Field and Staff of the Army of the Cherokee Nation" (NARA M908) (FHL film 1205384) (Worldcat) The compiled service records have not been microfilmed.

The Oklahoma Historical Society site and research center has excellent information on Indian Removal,Census, Freedman Resources, Tribes in Oklahoma, Timelines for the removal of the Cherokee tribe and more.

Treaties

The year link (year of the treaty) will connect to an online copy of the treaty.

During the latter part of the 18th Century and most of the 19th Century, treaties were negotiated between the federal government and individual Indian tribes. The treaties provide helpful information about the history of the tribe, but usually only include the names of those persons who signed the treaty. For more information about treaties, click here.

Vital Records

Prior to the Indian Reorganization Act, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, through their agencies, may have recorded some vital events. Some were recorded on health forms, such as the "Sanitary Record of Sick, Injured, Births, Deaths, etc." Others were recorded as supplements to the "Indian Census Rolls." Some were included in the unindexed reports and other correspondence of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Indian Pioneer Papers

In 1936, the Oklahoma Historical Society and University of Oklahoma requested a writer's project grant from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in which interviews would be conducted with early settlers in Oklahoma who had lived on Indian land. More than 100 writers conducted over 11,000 interviews and were asked to "call upon early settlers and (record) the story of the migration to Oklahoma and their early life here." [1] The University of Oklahoma Western History Collection has digitized the Indian Pioneer Papers which consists of approximately 80,000 indexed entries arranged alphabetically by personal name, place name, or subject. [2] An index to the Indian Pioneer Papers may also be found at OkGenWeb Oklahoma Genealogy. A separate index of Indians interviewed, including the Cherokee, may be viewed at: “Indians in the Indian Pioneer Papers” Some of the surnames from the Cherokee tribe found in the collection are: Adair (Rider), Anderson, Beaver, Brewer, Bohanan, Burch (Choate), Campbell, Candy, Chambers (Ketcher), Coodey, Crutchfield (Lane), Daniels (Cummins), Daughtery (Morris), Drew, Dugan, Duncan, Harlan (James), Keys (Porter), Ketcher (Langley), Langley, Lynch, Marcham, McClure (Keith), Miller (Watts), Morris, Phillips (Keith), Rider (Howland), Ross, Rutherford (Rider), Starr, Vann, West (Spring). Family History Library microfiche number: 6,016,865 (first fiche number)

Family History Library

The Family History Library catalog has over 1670 records of interest to the Cherokee Indians

Malinowski, Sharon and Sheets, Anna, eds. The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Detroit: Gale Publishing, 1998. 4 volumes. Includes: Lists of Federally Recognized Tribes for U.S., Alaska, and Canada – pp. 513-529 Alphabetical Listing of Tribes, with reference to volume and page in this series Map of “Historic Locations of U.S. Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Canadian Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Mexican, Hawaiian and Caribbean Native Groups” Maps of “State and Federally Recognized U.S. Indian Reservations. WorldCat 37475188; Family History Library book 970.1 G131g.